SINGAPORE, March 1 ― Michelle Wie said she had been cleared of serious injury today after a painful hand problem forced her "heart-breaking” withdrawal from the HSBC Women's World Championship as defending title-holder.

The American, in her second tournament back after wrist surgery, lasted just 14 holes of yesterday's opening round in Singapore before calling it quits at 10 over par.

"Feeling absolutely gut-wrenched right now,” Wie posted on Instagram, revealing that hospital scans had ruled out structural damage.

"I was so ready to be pain-free that I ignored a couple of warning signs late last week,” said Wie.

"But I hit a shot on 8 that caused my hand to be in a really vulnerable position resulting in a bad flare up. After that shot, I felt a strong nerve irritation and it kept getting worse as I tried to play on.”

By the time Wie abandoned her her title defence, her round had included a double bogey followed by a triple bogey.

"Being in that amount of pain, I was scared that I could possibly do further damage,” posted the 2014 US Open winner, calling the withdrawal "heart-breaking”.

"Luckily the surgery site looks like it's healing great. However, it looks like I'm dealing with some nerve entrapment due to tendon inflammation,” she added.

"Will keep an eye on it the next week and will re-evaluate where I'm at after that.”

World number one Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand shared a five-way tie for the lead as round two got underway today. ― AFP